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IS YOUR BED KILLING YOU? by Dr Cory Ostroot

In my first year of medical school we received 8 weeks of training on the heart. The analogy offered by the professor was the heart as a mechanical pump that pushes blood through the body; there were

chambers, valves, and an electrical system all working together to pump oxygen-filled blood to the body’s tissues. We learned that the heart is the most complex muscle in the body because it has the ability to beat

even when the brain and central nervous system have been completely shut down. I was really intrigued but not given any tools with which to change a sick heart into a healthy heart.

In my second year of medical school, we learned about the drugs that can affect the heart, from medications that slow the heartbeat – called beta-blockers – to medications that reduce the amount of fluid the

heart has to pump – called diuretics. Then there were surgeries that could repair blockages caused by cholesterol and other fatty deposits; the arteries could have a stent inserted, or an artery could be removed

and replaced by a vein in the leg. All of these strong therapies, drugs, and surgeries seemed like amazing options and great ways to fix the problem. But why didn’t they help my Grandpa?

Then came my third year, when I finally got to learn how to help people naturally! I was introduced to supplements like coenzyme Q10 – a super-antioxidant – and a supplement containing natural nitric oxide

inducers, thereby helping to decrease inflammation in the vessels and dilate them to increase blood flow. These were all decent options, I thought, but what was the real reason that my grandfather kept having

heart attacks? I needed to go back to my first year of schooling to better understand the physiology of the heart and the importance of blood flow. That’s when I heard about Andrew Fletcher.

MY OWN EXPERIENCE

After being inspired by Mr Fletcher, I inclined my own bed about 1 year ago, and attempted to document the changes that I experienced in my body. Like almost every naturopathic doctor I know, I was a little overzealous and inclined my queen-sized bed to 7.5… well, closer to 8 inches. I recommend starting at less than 4 inches and slowly increasing the incline as you see fit, to achieve the 5-degree tilt. My first night was like being on a “slip and slide” in the middle of the summer, except that there wasn’t a smile on my face the next morning. I ended up with some neck pain, as well as a kink in my lower back, which already has disc herniations. Once I lowered the tilt of my bed to the recommended 6 inches, I experienced headaches and increased muscle soreness for 10 days, which then subsided. My benefits afterwards included decreased muscle soreness and pain (including my back), increased alertness on waking, and a notable decrease in awakenings in the middle of the night. I also experienced a consistent need to urinate a large amount in the morning, which suggested that my kidneys were filtering much more during the night. I have also noticed that sleeping on a flat bed is very uncomfortable now; I wake up feeling almost ill after a few days of this. I am never going back to sleeping on a flat mattress.

I might not have been able to change my grandfather’s heart from a sick heart into a healthy heart, but now I know there are natural ways in which we can benefit the heart and take stress off of it so that it can work longer and better. One of those ways is by inclining one’s bed.